Legally Required Document

Title in original language: 农民增值税收购发票/收据

Applicable to: Transaction between individual farmers and timber products entities

Holder of Document: Forestry entity 

Signature required by:
Self-billing VAT invoice shall be issued via taxation authority’s IT system and sealed by the buyer. The receipt shall be signed by the individual farmers.

Key considerations when checking the doc:

Self-billing invoice:

• Can it be verified via the website: https://inv-veri.chinatax.gov.cn?
• Does the product description match the harvesting permit?
• Is the date of the document after the timber harvest date, see harvest permit (if available)?
• Does the volume or quantity match other documents such as sales contract and delivery note?
• Are the names of the buyer or seller the same as on the delivery note and business contract (if applicable)?

Receipt:

• Is the farmer’s name and address the same as on the harvest permit (if available) and as declared in the supply chain map?
• Is the signature, address, phone number, ID number of farmer available on the document to provide a high level of confidence that the receipt is authentic?
• Does the product description match the harvest permit (if available)?
• Is the date of the document after the timber harvest date. See harvest permit (if available)?

Note: What information is recommended on a receipt? There are no legal requirements on what should be included in a receipt. However, to provide a high level of confidence with the authenticity of receipt, it is recommended that the receipt contain the following information: farmer’s name and ID information, signature, address, phone number, species, volume, buyer’s name, etc.

Purpose and content of document:
Self-billing VAT invoices and/or receipts aim to deal with the reality that individual farmers are unable to issue VAT invoices. In some regions, medium and large company buyers can issue self-billing VAT invoices when buying timber from individual farmers. The self-billing VAT invoice is issued via the Taxation authority system and can be verified online similar to VAT Invoices. The difference between the VAT Invoice and the self-billing VAT invoice is that the buyer can issue the Self-billing VAT invoice, whereas the normal VAT invoice is issued by the seller. Some companies use receipts instead. The receipt is prepared by the seller (a company or farmer). There is no fixed template, and the receipt cannot be verified online.

Evidence limitations and weaknesses:
The receipt is easily falsified.